Commission says proposed amendments will modernise Nigeria’s pension law, strengthen compliance and improve retirement benefits for contributors
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has commenced a review of the Pension Reform Act 2014, saying the legislation must be updated to reflect evolving realities, close implementation gaps and improve retirement outcomes for millions of Nigerians.
Also read: Dangote Cement shareholders approve record N753.8bn dividend
The Director-General of PenCom and Chairman of the Pension Industry Leadership Council, Omolola Oloworaran, announced the review on Tuesday while briefing journalists after the council’s third quarterly meeting at Fraser Suites in Abuja.
The meeting brought together leaders of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), Closed Pension Fund Administrators (CPFAs) and officials of the commission to assess the industry’s performance and discuss ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s pension system.
Addressing questions on the planned legislative amendments, Oloworaran said the current law, last amended 12 years ago, required modernisation to support reforms and respond to emerging challenges.
“The reason we are reviewing is to modernise the Act,” she said.
“Things continue to change, and we continue to come up with reform ideas that improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians who are part of the scheme. So, the whole essence of the review is to modernise the Act and ensure that it reflects conditions of today.”
She explained that the PenCom Pension Reform Act Review would also address weaknesses identified during the implementation of the existing law.
“Certainly, we did have some implementation gaps in the previous Act that we’ll also try and correct in this Act,” Oloworaran added.
While declining to disclose the specific amendments under consideration, she said consultations with stakeholders were ongoing and emphasised that all proposed changes were designed to improve contributors’ welfare.
“One thing you should know is that all the amendments that are being proposed are all in the interest of ordinary Nigerians who are part of the scheme, and it will make their lives better,” she said.
Earlier, the PenCom chief said members of the Pension Industry Leadership Council discussed several initiatives aimed at making Nigeria’s pension industry more inclusive, transparent and globally competitive.
According to her, deliberations focused on improving retirement outcomes, expanding pension awareness, increasing industry participation in the capital market and advancing the proposed Pension Industry Infrastructure Fund.
“One thing that was clear from today’s engagement is the need to ensure better outcomes for all contributors, for ordinary Nigerians contributing to this scheme,” she said.
Oloworaran also announced that PenCom would organise its first National Pension Week from September 15 to September 19 to improve public understanding of pension administration.
“We’ve seen a gap in pension literacy and awareness. So, the committee is working on a bunch of initiatives to improve the literacy amongst Nigerians so that people can understand pensions more.
“This will help us with accountability and better transparency to contributors and, in addition to that, create more awareness to be able to drive our personal pension plan better,” she said.
She disclosed that the commission was introducing a liability-driven investment framework to enhance retirement benefits and ensure stronger long-term returns for pension contributors.
“We continue to look at all initiatives, both locally and globally, that can help us to achieve our goals in terms of ensuring that we’re putting more money in the hands of ordinary Nigerians, and that when people retire, they can retire with peace of mind,” Oloworaran said.
On compliance, she said PenCom would intensify enforcement against employers who fail to remit workers’ pension deductions, revealing that the commission would soon begin working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in addition to its existing collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“Compliance and enforcement remain a top priority for us,” she said.
“PenCom continues to work with the necessary agencies, ICPC and now EFCC, to be included very soon, to ensure that all employers are contributing pensions for their staff and are remitting as well.”
The PenCom Director-General disclosed that only eight states have fully implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme, although two additional states are nearing full compliance. She warned that workers in states yet to adopt the scheme face uncertainty over their retirement benefits.
She also acknowledged that the commission had fallen short of its target of enrolling one million women in its Personal Pension Plan, attributing the low participation to limited public awareness.
“I was hoping that we would get one million women on board, but we haven’t even gotten close to that. The numbers are still very low, which is why I spoke about awareness and pension literacy,” she said.
To improve enrolment, PenCom is engaging market women associations, transport unions and other informal sector groups.
Oloworaran further disclosed that eligibility for the commission’s pilot health insurance scheme for retirees had been expanded from pensioners receiving ₦70,000 or less monthly to those earning up to ₦150,000, with the aim of increasing participation.
The pilot scheme currently has about 13,000 participants against a target of 30,000.
“We have 13,000 people, and we need to be able to run the pilot with a critical mass.
“So everybody that takes pension of ₦150,000 and below can go and try to onboard on the initiative, and they’ll be entitled to three years of health insurance,” she said.
The review comes as PenCom continues efforts to strengthen pension administration and enforcement.
Also read: Rotary Club of Mushin Golden to welcome President Emmanuel Okedeyi after London–Lagos End Polio Now expedition
Earlier this year, the commission, working with the ICPC, recovered more than ₦3 billion in outstanding pension contributions from defaulting employers, underscoring the government’s drive to improve compliance with the Pension Reform Act 2014 and safeguard workers’ retirement savings.
Maryam Idris is a reporter and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
